It is to be understood that the terminology “masonry elements” utilized throughout the specification is to be interpreted as including bricks, cinder blocks, compressed concrete slabs, decorative tile, or the like, and the joint therebetween may be formed of mortar, grout or other similar material.
Additionally, “tucking a joint” is to be interpreted as meaning striking or finishing the joint between adjacent masonry elements.
Tuck point tools are commonly used in masonry applications. One type of tuck tool is the generally S-shaped mortar striking tool wherein each end of the tool is rounded to a different radius to accommodate two different mortar widths. Another tool is a single size plastic grout finisher which is essentially a plastic thimble.
Masonry or ceramic tile is presently used outdoors, on walls, and floors. This masonry or ceramic tile comes in a wide variety of designs; e.g. rounded, beveled or square edged, irregular shapes and spacing between adjacent masonry elements which can vary generally over the range from one-sixteenth to one-half inch in width. In an effort to accommodate this variety of grout or mortar joint widths, striking tools have been made that have multiple strike heads or tips. One such striking tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,870 to Clark. Clark describes a circular disc that has a plurality of circular projections integrally formed within the disc and arranged about the periphery of the disc. The radius of each projection is distinct from each other projection. This tool, however, to allow all projections to be functional without interference from adjacent projections, the tool must be relatively large compared to a single tool. This is inconvenient and difficult to handle.
Other tools have the ability to exchange tips or strike ends to accommodate differing grout or mortar joint widths. This type of tuck tool requires the container which houses the alternate tips to be drug around the job site with the mason in the event he needs a different size tuck tool.
There are clear convenience advantages as well as cost advantages to having a masonry tuck tool that is inexpensive to manufacture, small enough to slip into a pocket, and yet versatile enough to accommodate a multitude of grout or mortar joint widths.